Knox is glad he ignored caddie’s suggestion

Russell Knox will be hoping it is second time lucky when he tees up in the US PGA Tour’s opening event in California this week.

The 28-year-old from Inverness battled through the Web.com Tour’s Play-offs to guarantee his place on the Tour. He was in a similar position in 2011 but failed to keep his card at the end of the 2012 season.

Now he is determined to go one better.

The gutsy Knox had to battle through golf’s equivalent of a bare-knuckle fight during last month’s play-offs. And 2002 Players Champion Craig Perks was full of admiration for what the Scot and the other qualifiers achieved.

Now a TV commentator, he remarked: “In the last hour of the final qualifying event, the quality of shots deteriorated at an alarming rate.”

“Some players like Joe Durrant, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour regrouped, composed themselves and got over the finishing line, while others simply fell victims to the pressure.”

Knox was one of the successful ones, despite a few bumpy moments over the final six holes. After finishing his round he shared his strategy with me.

“Having missed the cut in the previous event, I knew I needed a top-15 finish,” he explained. “So I set out with a format in mind. And, even though I climbed up the leaderboard to within three shots of the leader, I wasn’t thinking of playing to win.

“I simply wanted to keep my momentum going, and finish high enough so I’d be in all the Fall Series events. I hope I can kick on from there.”

Knox admits the most crucial moment for him in the Play-offs came on the final green. Facing a long birdie putt, but only needing a par to finish in a qualifying position, his caddie asked him if he wanted the flag attended.

The Scot declined.

“That had to be the best decision I made all week,” he revealed.

“Because for whatever reason the pressure, nerves, or whatever the ball was going about 100mph when it hit the pin virtually flush, and squirmed out to a foot away.

“If it had missed the pin, it would have ended up off the green, and I would have ended up much further down the list and possibly facing another year of being unable to get into tournaments.”

This year Knox finished tied for 13th place at the Travellers Championship in one of his limited appearances on the regular Tour. And a 59 at the Boise Open on the Web.com Tour was further proof he has the game to succeed in the coming year.

Not surprisingly, he is quietly confident.

“I’ll strive to get good finishes over the next four weeks, and that will set me up for the New Year,” he said. “I feel I deserve it after last year. It’s a great feeling knowing you’re in the position to plan a schedule and be able to prepare for it.”